Spain Tries to Stop Sale of Cã³rdoba Beams

Spain has asked Interpol to prevent the sale of five 10th century wooden beams from the historic Great Mosque of Córdoba, which were due to go on sale next month at Christie’s auction house in London.

The five larch beams were carved and painted by the Moorish craftsmen who helped extend the famous mosque to its current size 10 centuries ago.

Spain wants the beams, formerly part of one of the country’s most visited and valued historic monuments, to be impounded until the legality of the sale can be clarified.

"The culture ministry has asked the world heritage brigade of the national police, via Interpol, to investigate the legal situation of the five beams from the Córdoba mosque," the ministry said in a statement.

"The ministry has asked for the sale to be suspended until the investigation is finalized and for British judicial authorities to act and, if possible, take custody of them."

The ministry said a Spanish law from 1985 bars objects more than 100 years old from being exported without a permit.

But Christie’s yesterday insisted it was not worried about the provenance of the beams. It said the beams, whose estimated value is between £200,000 and £300,000, had left the mosque area before experts began to catalogue remains at the site in the 1920s.

"We are working with the Spanish authorities in order to clarify certain issues," the company said in a statement.

"We cannot be completely sure when the beams left the mosque vicinity. We can be sure that they had done so by 1928."

The roof of the mosque had been repaired and restored during the 18th century, with many parts being replaced.

"The beams were discovered stored at the back of a massive barn where, according to the previous owner, they had lain for decades," Christie’s said. "It had been hoped that they could be used for an architectural project that never materialized, so they remained there, unrecognized, until relatively recently."

Two of the beams retain the original 10th century polychrome decoration with trefoil and diamond designs. "Considering the age of the wooden beams, their condition is remarkably well preserved," said Christie’s.

The Córdoba mosque, famous for the arches joining more than 1,000 columns, was once the second largest in the world.

It was built to be the crowning jewel of a city that was the seat of a caliphate covering most of Iberia.

It now houses a cathedral, built after Córdoba was re-conquered by Christians in the 13th century.